FIA2018: Hamburg and Québec intensify research cooperation

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed expanding the existing research cooperation between the ZAL Center for Applied Aeronautical Research and its Canadian partners, CRIAQ and CARIC, in fields that include aircraft cabin acoustics and composite fibre materials.

The regions of Hamburg and Québec, two of the world’s biggest aviation sites, have been cooperating on research and development since the end of 2017. The MoU commits to work on joint and complementary technological areas of focus, along with the intention to establish one joint research project per year and to bring the respective research communities closer together at events like the annual ZAL Innovation Days and the biennial International Aerospace Week in Montréal.

The agreement between CRIAQ, CARIC and ZAL is built on a MoU signed at Farnborough in 2016 by Hamburg Aviation and Aéro Montreal representing the clusters.

“Hamburg and Québec are two of the global aviation industry’s most important metropolitan regions, and their competency areas are complementary. Our facilitator for research and innovation within the Hamburg Aviation network, ZAL, has been delivering outstanding service in applied aeronautical research ever since it was opened, and the productive collaboration with Canadian partners demonstrates once again the effectiveness of the ZAL concept of an open and cooperative innovation culture. Aeronautical research is teamwork. We can only achieve our goals if we work together,” said Hamburg’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Senator Frank Horch, commenting on the signing in Farnborough.

“I am proud of the concept behind the ZAL TechCenter, putting the idea of ‘Open Innovation’ in the foreground regardless of the research field. Without this, many projects would not even be possible. Our high-tech infrastructures mean that we are ideally positioned to work on relevant topics. The expansion of our transatlantic cooperation, as firmed up in today’s MoU, provides us with priceless knowledge and expertise that we can extend together with our Canadian partners. This enables us to achieve lasting improvements in aviation,” said ZAL managing director and CEO Roland Gerhards of the research cooperation with Canada.